


Watching Stars Collide

by blake_is_strange



Series: Originals [1]
Category: None - Fandom
Genre: America, Angst, Apocalypse, Canada, Didn't know how much Russia hated America before I wrote this, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Internet Friends, Military, Romance, Russia, This is an original, post apocalyptic gays, sorry that it's not fanfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-08-27 01:11:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8382106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blake_is_strange/pseuds/blake_is_strange
Summary: Emma Scott thought that life was just gonna be normal. Hell, she even thought that her life would be boring. Well, she wishes. When Russia finally lands on America's coast, everything goes to shit. And her and some of her dearest friends are stuck in the middle of it all. Not to mention that she later runs into an old friend she thought she'd never get to talk to again, let alone see.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an original work that I've been working on. If you guys enjoy it, please lemme know. If not, also lemme know lol. Thanks to InTheColdImStanding for taking a look at this for me and helping me flesh it out a little, she's hella bomb, guys lol. There's also some Russian in here, which I've never spoken or learned so please know that it's all google translate lol. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy, at least a little!

It was a normal day at first. I was in my last class of the day, watching the seconds slowly tick by as I bounced my foot up and down on the old carpet beneath me. The class wasn’t boring, it was actually super interesting and it was probably my favorite considering that it dealt with child psychology and how things changed who people became as they grew up. But despite how much I loved learning about the developing brain, I couldn’t help feeling impatient. As soon as that clock hit 6:45, I was allowed to finally go home and play video games with Kara. 

 

Yeah, I know it doesn’t sound that exciting, but it was, alright? It was one of the only times that I felt like I could really relax. Plus, Kara always managed to make me feel like everything I could be myself without worrying about what other people thought about me. We hadn’t been friends for that long and she lived all the way in Canada, but I considered her to be one of my close friends. Plus, I wasn’t sure why but she always did and said things that made me laugh or giggle like a hopeless moron. 

 

What time do you think you’ll be out of class? The message popped up on my lock screen, distracting me from the snail like speed of the analog clock on the far wall. I picked up my phone, unlocking it to reply. It was a text from my best friend, Ronan. We always met up after my class got out and talked until his class started. Ronan and I had been friends since we had met back in middle school, but we'd gotten really close over the past few years. He'd been there for me my ex boyfriend broke up with me and when my most recent girlfriend had cheated on me, so I trusted him with pretty much everything. He’d been staying with my family and I for the last few weeks because his parents had kicked him out. He’d told them that he wanted to marry his girlfriend who later broke up with him because he’d gotten kicked out. So, needless to say, he hadn’t been a happy camper recently. Which was fine, it was kind of fun to have him living with my family, even though he hadn’t quite expected us to be so weird. I think that helped him, though. Seeing my family act like total maniacs and talk about everything from the election to teaching my brother how to flirt with girls was probably a nice change of pace from his usually tense home environment. 

 

6:45, so like 10 minutes, I replied, putting my phone down and picking up my pen, deciding that taking notes for the upcoming test would be more helpful than staring at the clock. I had to keep up my grades to stay in the nursing program, so focusing was probably the best plan of action. 

 

My screen lit up, the light catching the corner of my eye. I picked it up, seeing a text from Ronan saying that he’d be waiting outside his class for me and a Skype message from Kara, saying that she couldn’t wait to kick ass tonight. I smiled despite myself because I could practically hear her saying it outloud. But I shook my head, trying to clear it. It seemed that thinking about Kara distracted me more than it should’ve. It was like the slightest thing that related to her in anyway sent my mind on some sort of race to see how quickly my thoughts could go from friendly inside jokes and teasing to way too gay to be acceptable. 

 

I sighed, pulling my mind from the pit of what was probably the most distracting crush of my life and back to the education my parents had paid so much money for. I was studying to become a nurse so that I could go to other countries and help with rebuilding efforts and maybe even go to different places during times of crisis. But, best case scenario was that I got a job in a doctor’s office. Which wasn’t bad, but part of me had hoped for something that had a little but more to do with helping people who rarely received help and maybe even going to places I’d never seen before. But my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a panicked sounding woman speaking hurriedly through the speakers. I looked up at the projector screen, seeing a blond woman who was always on the TV at home, looking wide eyed at me through the screen, even though I knew she couldn’t see me.

 

“It seems that enemy forces have infiltrated the coast and are quickly making their way towards major cities such as LA and Sacramento, California,” she said, looking down at a tablet in her hands. “All citizens that are close to the coast are advised to evacuate inland immediately. If you cannot leave your homes within the next hour, plan to stay indoors and do no leave under any circumstances.” 

 

Worried murmurs filled the room and my heart thud against the inside of my chest as I stared at the screen in disbelief. One minute, I had been taking notes on language development from some video on YouTube, now I was listening to a woman explain the devastation that had occurred in cities all along the coast as live footage was shown on screen. A beach lined with ships on the horizon and soldiers running up the coast towards the homes that rested peacefully on the edge of the sand. I was about to grab my stuff and leave when I heard gunshots coming from the screen and people around me screaming as a man was gunned down outside of his home. 

 

I tore my eyes from the screen, looking down at my phone to see my dad calling. I grabbed the phone off my desk and ran out the door of my classroom before anyone else could, answering my phone as I heard people around me start to scream as they rushed to their cars. 

 

“Dad?” I asked as I put my phone to my ear, shoving through a crowd of people towards Ronan’s classroom. Hopefully he would be there. We could get out of here and go home together, keep each other safe. 

 

“Oh, thank God, Emma, are you alright?” He asked, sounding out of breath.

 

“I’m fine,” I said, running towards Ronan’s figure. He ran towards me, his eyes wide as sweat dripped down his face from his light blond hair. He must’ve run all the way here from across campus. 

 

“What’s going on?” Ronan asked me, still panting a little. 

 

“Emma, you need to get out of there,” my dad said hurriedly. “Don’t come back home, though, try to find a place to hide out for a day or two and then head towards Uncle Derek's house.”

 

“But doesn’t he live right up against the coast?” I asked, taking Ronan’s hand and heading towards the parking lot. I had some stuff in my car that we would need. He didn’t even question me, he just followed. 

 

“He has a safe house underground,” my dad replied. “Don’t argue, just do it.”

 

“Ok, I’m bringing Ronan with me,” I said as we pushed through a crowd of screaming people. They were all running to their cars and speeding off to their homes or families or inland. 

 

“Ok, I love you, Emma,” my dad said, his voice suddenly sounding shaky. “Stay safe, ok?”

 

“You too,” I replied, swallowing the lump in my throat as tears pricked at my eyes. I had always prepared for something like this, but I had never thought that it would actually happen. I thought that things might just stay peaceful for once, that years of tension wouldn’t suddenly snap into all out war. “I love you.” I hung up my phone, putting it on airplane mode and then stuffing it in my back pocket. 

 

“Emma, where are we going?” Ronan shouted, still following close behind me. 

 

“We have to find a place to hide and stay there until the enemy passes through,” I said, unable to keep my voice from shaking. “Then we’re heading north and towards the coast.”

 

“Why?” He asked, looking like he felt just as scared and unsure as I felt. 

 

“We can’t leave now,” I stated as we got to my car and I popped the trunk. “All the roads will be blocked off from the traffic and the less populated area we can find the hide out in, the better. If this is as bad as it seems, these soldiers aren’t just going for capturing people, they want people dead, civilians and soldiers alike.”

 

“How could you know that?” He asked, helping me grab the emergency backpack from my trunk. I went through everything, glad that I had remembered to double check all this stuff the weekend before. 

 

“I don’t,” I admitted, setting my school backpack down next to my emergency one. I took out a notebook and some pens and the water bottles I always had in my backpack, as well as my pocket knife, and put those into the emergency backpack. “But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

 

Ronan looked down at me with fear in his eyes, his brow furrowed as tears welled up in his eyes. I didn’t blame him, I would’ve burst into tears right then and there if I didn’t know that we could both be dead soon if we didn’t stay focused. I reached up, cupping his cheeks in my hands to keep his gaze locked with mine as I spoke.

 

“Everything’s going to be just fine,” I said firmly, letting go of his face and taking his hand. “We just have to find somewhere to hide for a day or two, that’s it.”

 

“Where are we supposed to go?” He asked, but he sounded a bit more calm now, or at least more focused. I paused, thinking for a moment. The idea hit me like a ton of bricks and I turned towards the mountains in the distance.

 

“You know how there’s that road that goes towards the mountains by the off ramp?” I asked, getting a hesitant nod from my tall friend. “There’s an abandoned factory there and one of the buildings is all locked up. A friend of mine disarmed the alarm last time we were there so he could get into the building and apparently it’s all pretty sturdy and completely empty.”

 

“How do you know that other people haven’t thought of that already?” He asked, looking nervous. I paused, but I knew that we didn’t have a lot of time to think things over.

 

“I don’t,” I said simply. “But we don’t have a lot of options right now.” He hesitated for another moment before nodding slowly.

 

“Ok, I trust you,” he replied. “Lead the way.” 

 

So we made our way towards the main road that was just in front of the college. It was pure chaos, cars piled up from crashes, people running and speeding and even screaming as campus police and EMTs struggled to help the injured and stop people from looting. Ronan and I ran through the park, going around the medical tent that had been set up underneath the trees. My chest ached at the idea that people were hurt and that I wasn’t there to help any of them. But I had to focus. Ronan and I had to get to some place safe.

 

“Help me!” Someone screamed from the road. I turned to see a girl trapped underneath a car that had been flipped over. There was a man trying to lift the car, he must’ve been the one who’d called for help because the girl looked like she was unconscious. I ran over, unable to stop myself, even though Ronan was running after me, yelling for me to stop. I got to the guy who was trying to lift the car and he whirled around to look at me. “Please, can you help me? She’s stuck and I can’t get the car up, it’s too heavy.” He was dripping sweat and his eyes were wide with fear and panic. 

 

“Yeah, we can help,” I replied hurriedly, motioning for Ronan to help as I knelt down to look at the girl. Her face was bloodied and bruised with a long, deep gash across her forehead. It was probably what had covered her face in so much blood. I felt panic welling up in me again as I hoped that she hadn’t been totally crushed beneath the metal vehicle. “Ok, on three, you two lift and I’ll pull her out.”

 

“Alright,” Ronan said, getting a hold of the car. “One, two, three.” And with the creaking and scratching of metal against concrete, the car was lifted up just enough for me to pull the girl out from under the car. I pulled her out by her arms, glad when I didn’t hear any of her bones crack as I did so. 

 

“Help me move her off of the street,” I said to the guy who’d been with her before. He nodded and lifted her by her legs while I lifted her shoulders, setting her down on one of the picnic tables. “Ronan, go get one of the doctors from the tent over there and tell them that we have a female who’s currently unconscious, but stable and ask them to send whoever they can spare to come and get her if they can.” He nodded, running towards the medical tents about twenty yards away. I would’ve just brought her over to the tents if they weren’t so far away. We didn’t know the extent of her injuries yet, so it probably wasn’t smart to move her in the first place, but she would’ve been in more danger if we’d stayed out in the middle of the street. 

 

Rolling up the sleeves of my sweat soaked flannel, I put two fingers to the girl’s neck, feeling her pulse thumping faintly beneath her skin. Her heart rate was low, but she was still there. I put my ear just above her mouth and nose, feeling faint breaths brush against my skin. That was a good sign, hopefully she hadn’t broken any ribs, but maybe that was too much to hope for from someone who’d had a car flipped on top of them. I looked down her body, seeing that her left leg was bent the complete wrong directions and the skin was a bit torn up as her white vans were completely soaked in blood. 

 

“How long has she been unconscious?” I asked the man who was pacing back and forth along a five foot span of grass, his fingers in his hair and his dark eyes wide. He didn’t stop moving when I asked him the question, he didn’t even look at me. 

 

“I - I don’t know,” he stammered, his voice shaking. “We were just walking back after getting coffee and then this asshole ran a red light and this other car hit him and then his car was on top of her and she was screaming about her leg and I couldn’t lift the car.” He was talking too fast, tears streaming down his face as his breathing grew shallow and ragged. I stepped away from the girl for a moment, standing right in front of the man and putting my hands on his shoulders to stop him before he could walk right over me as memories flashed through his mind.

 

“Hey,” I said firmly, managing to get his attention by shaking him a little. He met my gaze, lowering his hands so that they were by his side. “I need you to try and stay calm, alright? Can you tell me the girl’s name?”

 

“Lisa,” he replied shakily, tears creating streaks on his dust covered cheeks. “We have statistics together.” I nodded, letting go of his shoulders and walking back to the girl. Looking her over, I raked my brain for anything I could do to help her while we waiting for help that might not show up. I set my pack down, digging through it until I found the first aid kit I always had stocked up. I pulled out a few bandages, folding some of them and gently wiping the blood away from the gash in her forehead. It was still bleeding, but it looked like her leg had pretty much clotted for the most part. The gash in her forehead was deep, but I wasn’t sure if it would need stitches. So I waited for the bleeding to stop, applying as much pressure as I thought was necessary but not painful. When I finally heard footsteps running up behind me, I was relieved to see that Ronan had come back with two EMTs and a stretcher.

 

“How are her vitals?” One of the EMTs asked, using his stethoscope to listen to her heartbeat. 

 

“Weak, but not as bad as I would’ve expected,” I replied, wiping my forehead with my forearm. My hands were covered in blood by now and I could feel sweat dripping down my forehead and back.

 

“Thank you for your help,” the man who’d been with Lisa said, his eyes swimming with emotions that I’d never seen in someone before. “She would’ve died if it wasn’t for you. I won’t forget what you did for us.” I couldn’t help laughing a little, unable to hold back the nervous shiver behind it.

 

“No need to thank me,” I said, swallowing dryly. I suddenly felt strangely exhausted even with the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. “Just be careful, things are going to shit really fast. Stay safe.” 

 

“You too,” he said, giving me a nod before turning to follow the EMTs back to the medical tent, Lisa still unconscious as she was carried away on the stretcher. 

 

“Come on,” Ronan said, his voice pulling me from my thoughts. “We can’t stay here.” I nodded, packing up my things and starting back on the path that would lead us to the abandoned building in the mountains. 

 

It took us thirty minutes to finally find the building and another ten for me to find the window that my friend had used to break into the building. It was on the third floor, which meant that Ronan and I had to climb a tree to reach it. I climbed in first, managing to avoid the sharp glass that remained from when the window was broken. Ronan, on the other hand, got his forearm caught on the glass, slicing a long, deep gash into his skin. He cursed, the sound of his pained groans echoing through the empty office building. When I finally got him sat down in one of the old, dusty spinning chairs, he set his arm down on the desk, watching as blood poured from the gash in his skin.

 

“Not even an hour into the apocalypse and you’re already bleeding to death,” I scolded. He laughed weakly, watching me as I worked quickly to try and stop the bleeding. It took longer than it should’ve, but it did stop eventually. “I have to stitch it, stay still.” He just nodded, but the sweat on his brow and the way he worried his lip a little betrayed his nervousness. I threaded the needle quickly with the stitching I would need and turned on the desk lamp to get more light. I was definitely surprised when the bulb flickered to life, illuminating the area around us. I resisted the urge to look around at the newly lit up room and focused on the task at hand. 

 

“Just try not to move, ok?” I said as I placed the sharp end of the needle against his skin. He nodded, but he was tense, like he was expecting it to hurt more than it was going to. I had only ever stitched up cadavers before, but never a living, breathing, anything. Not even and animal. But it was either I did my best to stitch him up, or we took the chance of the cut getting infected or just leading to him bleeding to death. Neither of which were pleasant sounding options. 

 

“I can’t believe those bastards attacked us,” he growled through gritted teeth as I tried to stitch his skin together as gently as I could. 

 

“We’ve been at war for a long time,” I replied quietly. The idea made my heart heavy with a sense of dread that I’d rarely felt before and I hated it. Most of the Middle East had it out for America for some reason, or that’s what they said on the news all the time. Some country our government thought hadn’t thought was a threat had decided to point a couple of nukes our way about a month ago. Since then, we’d had troops on the ground and planes in the air, doing everything they could to shut down whoever it was that wanted us dead so badly. But I never expected it to come to this. America hadn’t had an attack on its soil since the Twin Towers in New York fell back in the early 2000s and even that hadn’t lead to enemy soldiers on our coasts, gunning people down in front of their families. 

 

“I hope the army kicks their asses,” Ronan grumbled, his hand balled into a fist as I finished up his stitches. The reality of it all hadn’t really set in yet, but I felt it sinking into my skin as the sun set just outside. All of the windows were boarded up except for the one we’d climbed through, but small rays of light still poured in through every crack they could find. I wrapped Ronan’s arm in clean bandages, trying to save as much as possible. I had to keep his wound clean and there was no telling how long it would take for things to die down enough for us to leave. If those soldiers were headed inland as fast as the news announcer seemed to think, then it wouldn’t be much longer before they were right on our doorstep.

 

“Ronan?” His name barely left my lips as more than a whisper. Fear was quickly filling my body to the brim, closing up my throat as tears filled my eyes. I had been scared before, seeing that man get shot, having to help that girl Lisa, having to run for our lives to find somewhere safe. Those were all terrifying things that I never wanted to do again, but at least I had been doing something. Now, in the quiet as the sun dipped below the mountains, it all felt too still, too quiet. Like the earth itself was waiting for the real war to begin. 

 

I was kneeling on the floor, my blood stained hands shaking as I looked down at them. I had never seen my hands covered in fresh blood before. Ronan knelt down next to me, helping me to my feet and letting me sit down on the chair. Grabbing a bottle of water from his backpack, he poured it onto my hands, helping me wash away the blood. I could barely move I was shaking so much. I didn’t want to be like this, not when I needed to focus.

 

“It’s ok, Emma,” Ronan said gently as he dried my hands on his shirt. I didn’t feel the tears until he was wiping them away, his dark blue eyes looking into mine as I struggled to catch my breath. I hadn’t had a panic attack in a few months, but even those were nothing compared to this feeling. The feeling that, no matter what I did, people I loved were going to die because someone across an ocean came over and hated us enough to want us dead. I had never been so afraid in my life. “Just breath.” It was such a quiet, simple thing to say, but somehow it helped me feel a little more grounded. 

 

After whatever amount of time it took me to calm down, Ronan and I found some wood to block off the window we’d come in through, just incase. If we really needed to get out, there were a few exits that we found marked on the map on an old desk. As we both decided that we should settle down for the night and try to rest, I felt my stomach clench a little. 

 

Did Kara know what was happening? I don’t know why the question came to me so suddenly, but it did. I sat down on the dusty floor, using my backpack as a pillow as I wondered what she had heard or if she had heard anything. I reached for my phone, pulling it out of my back pocket. Turning off airplane mode, I saw that I had no service or internet of any kind, making the sinking feeling in my chest even worse. 

 

I chided myself internally, turning my phone back on airplane mode and putting it away. I don’t know why, but for some reason I couldn’t stop myself from hoping that Kara didn’t know what was happening. It was stupid, probably, thinking about someone I’d never met when my entire family and all my friends lives were at stake, but Kara was my friend too. One of the best friends I’d ever had. And, no matter how stupid it made me feel sometimes, I really cared about her. Way more than I should’ve, probably. 

 

I sighed heavily, turning over so that I was laying on my left side instead of my right, staring out at the moon through a space between two pieces of wood we’d put over the window. I felt exhausted, but my mind was buzzing, thoughts racing behind my eyes as I tried and failed to will myself to sleep. 

 

I had my eyes closed and my mind was starting to drift into sleep when I first heard it. It sounded like the beat of someone’s heart at first, a steady rhythm that reverberated through the air and echoed ever so slightly against the empty buildings around the abandoned factory. I opened my eyes slowly, sitting bolt upright as I saw car lights shine outside the boarded up windows, shimmering through the cracks between boards and hitting the walls before traveling to the ceiling and then disappearing completely. Ronan sat up next to me, giving me a questioning glance. I held my finger to my lips as I got to my feet, motioning for him to stay put. 

 

I walked over to the broken window, keeping my steps as quiet as I could. I hadn’t realized how much my feet hurt until that moment, when I was suddenly made to stand again. I looked between the cracks in the boards, seeing uniformed men with guns and trucks with men inside them. They were all standing in formation, a tall, dark haired man speaking to them in a language that I had only heard a few times before, but I recognized the accent immediately. 

 

Russians, I thought, watching the men as they listened to who I guessed was their leader. After a moment of speaking, he saluted to them and they saluted back, all shouting a phrase I didn’t understand. But that wasn’t what concerned me in that moment, what concerned me was the fact that a few of the soldiers were headed towards the door. The sound of a boot on wood and the sound of the door splintering then followed, making me jump. Ronan jumped to his feet, looking around with wide eyes. We were still for a moment, stealing ourselves in the dark as the banging sound continued to ring out around us. 

 

There was one final sound, wood finally breaking apart and falling to the ground. 

 

“Поиск области, только убить, если спровоцировали,” a voice shouted, the sound echoing around the building until it reached us. Ronan and I glanced at each other, my heart racing in my chest. Part of me wanted to hide, hoping that the soldier wouldn’t be able to find us. But another part of me wanted to give myself up, see if I could convince these people to spare us both and let us go home to our families. 

 

Ronan only hesitated for a moment before taking a step towards me and then taking my hand, leading me to the side of the room that was opposite the door. There was a closet against the wall, just big enough for both of us to fit in, so we climbed in and closed the doors. I held my breath, waiting for whatever was going to happen next. It felt like hours before the sound of thumping footsteps made their way to the office door across the room. The door clicked open, creaking a bit as it swung and hit the wall beside it. It took everything I had not to flinch the sound, my heart racing as I realized that there were three sets of footsteps, all going in different directions as they searched the room.

 

“Приходите посмотреть на это,” One of the voices said, the sound of footsteps making their way to the side of the room where Ronan and I had left our packs. I chided myself, cursing internally as I stared blankly into the complete darkness of the closet. All I remember doing in that moment was praying that they would see the packs and then just take them and leave. Maybe they would just leave and never find us. There was a pause and no one moved. It was almost like the earth itself was holding its breath from how quiet everything was. I could feel my heart thumping against my ribs so hard that it hurt, the image of the man being shot outside his house on the news playing over and over again in my head. Would they kill us on sight?

 

“Hello?” A deep, accented voice called out, the sound bouncing off of the walls, making it sound much more frightening that it would’ve been otherwise. “We know you are hiding. Come out and we will not hurt you.” I was shaking so hard that I was afraid I’d fall onto my knees, opening the closet doors and revealing us to the soldiers. The sound of boots getting closer and closer made me hold my hands over my mouth to keep myself from whimpering in fear. Though I wouldn’t have been surprised is my heartbeat had been the thing to give me away by how loud it must’ve been.

 

“We are not here to kill you,” the voice said, getting closer and closer to our hiding place. “We just want to talk.” I screwed my eyes shut as the footsteps stopped just in front of the closet, tears welling up in my eyes as I anticipated whatever was to come next. 

 

Please, God, I prayed, holding back a sob. Please let them spare us. Please let us live through this. 

 

That’s when the closet doors swung open, the bright yellow light of a flashlight being shone into my eyes when they flew open. A large man with his pistol pointed at me froze me to where I stood, my hands still over my mouth as I held in a scream, but I was still shaking as small whimpers escaped me. I could barely make out the man’s features past the bright flashlight as he gripped my wrist, pulling me out of the closet and tossing me onto the floor. I fell to my knees, the palms of my hands scraping against old concrete and bits of broken glass. The man did the same to Ronan, forcing him onto his knees when he tried to stand.

 

“остаться вниз,” the man yelled as Ronan glared up at him, his gaze hard and challenging. “Why you hiding?” He shouted, pointing his gun to Ronan’s head. “Where you hiding your weapons?” His accent scrabbled his words a little. He probably hadn’t known English for very long either. 

 

“We don’t have any weapons,” Ronan shouted back, his voice barely shaking at all. 

 

“How was your arm hurt?” The man asked, nodding to Ronan’s arm. 

 

“On the glass from the window,” Ronan replied, holding up his arm. The soldier that had pulled us from hiding pressed the barrel of his gun to Ronan’s head.

 

“No moving!”

 

“отбой, солдат,” another voice interrupted, putting his hand on top of the soldier’s gun, moving it down and away from Ronan’s forehead. The man who’d stopped the soldier was the same one that I had guessed was in charge. He was much larger than I had anticipated, but he smiled down at the two of us, acting as though we were old friends or something and not the enemy he was looking for.

 

“I apologize for my friend,” he said, kneeling down in front of us and looking into Ronan’s eyes. Ronan was shaking now and I noticed that he was starting the bleed through his bandages. “We are all on edge right now, yes?” Ronan stared up at the man with a defiance I had rarely seen in him before and it scared me. I didn’t want him to get himself hurt, or worse, just because he wanted to stand up against these large, armed men. 

 

“What do you want with us?” Ronan asked, his voice more of a growl than anything. The large, dark haired man just chuckled, getting to his feet. 

 

“If we’re going to be friends, then I must be honest,” he said, folding his hands behind his back and looking down at us. “My army needs more soldiers, soldiers who know our enemy well because, well, they are our enemy.” My heart must’ve stopped beating altogether for a moment as the man spoke, because I felt like I’d just gotten the air kicked out of me. 

 

“Why would we ever fight for someone who’s attacking us?” Ronan spat back, looking like he wanted to stand. The man paused, looking as though he were feigning pensivity. 

 

“Well, if you don’t then who will spare your fellow countrymen during attacks?” He retorted, smirking when he saw Ronan’s features fall.

 

“Please,” I managed to croak out, grabbing the man’s attention. He looked down at me, something flashing over his features that I couldn’t place, but his gaze suddenly went from threatening to gentle. “We just want to go home to our families. We wouldn’t be of any use to you.” There was a pause as the man looked from me to Ronan and then at Ronan’s arm. 

 

“Did you fix his arm?” He asked me, kneeling down and unwrapping the wound. One of the stitches had snapped, but the rest looked intact. 

 

“He cut it on the glass,” I said, talking quicker than I meant to. “Please, don’t hurt him, please.” I felt myself panicking until the man looked back at me, his dark eyes strangely soft for someone I would’ve expected to look at me with nothing but disdain. Isn’t that how you treated your enemies?

 

“I will not hurt your friend,” he said, wrapping the wound back up and getting to his feet. “But only if you promise to pledge your allegiance to the Russian Military as a field nurse and convince your friend to join as a soldier.” I froze, dumbstruck. 

 

“What?” I whispered, wanting to scream and argue my way out of this, but I didn’t see how that would help anything.

 

“If you and your friend serve for five years, then we will spare your lives and treat you as we would any of other soldiers,” he replied simply, holding his hand out to me as he continued. “If you serve well, we will let you go and find your families. If you do not, then we will have you hung and left for the crows.” I swallowed hard, the image of being hung from a branch high in the air flashing behind my eyes as I looked up at the uniformed man. I spared a glance at Ronan who was staring at me with pleading eyes, like he wanted me to just say no and let us die right then and there. Perhaps that would’ve been the best choice in that moment, but I refused to let my friend and people I knew die. If I could save people by joining these people, then I didn’t see how I had any other choice. 

 

I looked back up at the tall man, getting to my feet and shaking his hand, locking my gaze with his. 

 

“Consider us your soldiers, then.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma has her first real fight and gets to know Annie a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know that this story isn't exactly what you guys wanna read right now, 'cause fan fiction is always better lol. But I kinda like where it's going so I'm gonna keep posting it, but I swear to also post more fics lol. Thanks for reading!

About three months of intense physical training past before they assigned me as a student to one of their military’s most effective and highly ranked doctors. His name was Abram Petrov and he was probably the shortest man in the whole of the army, but that wasn’t saying much since he was only a little under six feet tall. I was probably the shortest person there, being only a little over five feet. He taught me basic Russian, including curse words, as well as how to treat bullet wounds, explosive wounds, burns, and how to amputate limbs when needed. 

 

Ronan and I mostly kept to ourselves throughout our time in training, only talking with each other and people who we had to talk to. There were other Americans that had been recruited and they all stuck together, but Ronan had said that we should just keep to ourselves as much as we could. That way we could just get this over with and go home. If there was even a home to go back to, anyway. 

 

We’d had no contact with our families and it broke my heart more and more everyday. After we’d been taken in by the Russian army, we were moved further up north to Oregon and were part of the group that would be moved on Washington. Just the idea of that made my heart race with nervousness and anxiety. I had never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be attacking my own country, let alone fighting for an enemy that seemed bent on destroying it. Doctor Petrov had told me that, along with being a field nurse, I would be having to be on the front line with my fellow soldiers. Which basically meant that the Americans they had recruited were essentially cannon fodder because by fellow soldiers he meant the other Americans they’d trained. I, however, was one of the very few nurses that was available to the soldiers at all. I was to treat everyone, Americans and Russians alike, but I was required to give Russians care before Americans because Russian soldiers had been trained longer, thus would yield better results if brought back to the field immediately after sustaining a nonfatal injury. Or that’s what Petrov told me, anyway. 

 

They continued putting Ronan and me through physical training until right before we were first put on the field. After months of running, firearms training, hand to hand combat and even some computer and systems hacking training, we were sent out on our first mission with our squad. Ronan and I were part of the squad that Major Sokolov, the man who’d first “recruited” us, was in charge of. We were assigned to move on Washington immediately and try to secure their border with Canada as well as their capital. 

 

We were all crammed into the back of a big truck, wearing the dark green uniforms that they had given us to fight in along with a rifle and pistol for each of us. Most of the people around me had grenades, but I didn’t. Part of me was glad that I hadn’t gotten any since with my luck I would blow my own arm off if I had to use one. We also each had a backpack with a camel back full of water, more ammo and other supplies of the like. 

 

“You ready for your first day, new blood?” Another soldier asked me in Russian. Her name was Annie, I think, her sharp green eyes and light blond hair catching my attention almost immediately. I managed a small smile, even though I knew that today was going to be the craziest and scariest one I'd ever had in my life. I just nodded, looking away from her as soon as I could. It wasn’t rare for the Russian soldiers to talk to us, but I just wasn’t really in the mood for being teased in that moment. Well, I don’t know if teased is a good word. They weren’t cruel, usually, they just said things to get under our skin sometimes to see how loyal we were to fighting against our own people. 

 

“You know that you’re only one of two medics during this whole attack, right?” The woman asked, making me snap my gaze up to her again. She was grinning wryly at me, her words sending a cold shiver down my spine. One of two medical personnel? How did they expect two medical personnel to survive a month-long attack and probably a year long occupancy?

 

“How do you know that?” I asked, my accent a bit butchered because of the way my voice was shaking. Annie leaned forward, leaning her elbows against her knees and nodding over to a young man near the end of the truck. He was surprisingly skinny, his uniform showing off how thin his frame was. He was shaking uncontrollably, a small silver cross on a chain wrapped around his fingers and held between his pale, shaking hands. 

 

“That’s Orlov,” she replied, locking her gaze with mine. “Our squad used to have ten different field medics, but they were all killed during an American missile strike on Los Angeles. He was the newest and the only one who survived because he had been away from his station when the attack occurred.” I looked from her to Orlov, feeling nervousness and sympathy as I watched him. He was muttering to himself, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Maybe he was praying. 

 

“How do you know all this?” I asked Annie, turning to look at her again. She leaned back in her seat with a shrug.

 

“Doesn’t matter,” she replied simply. “I just thought that you should know who you’re working with. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just stayed in the truck the whole time.” She looked back at me before continuing, her features suddenly tense and serious. “You’ve got a lot of shit ahead of you, yanky. I just figured I’d warn you since you’re going to have to take care of people who’ve asked you to fight your own countrymen.”

 

“Thank you,” I replied, feeling a mixture of genuine gratitude and fear boiling up in my chest. I looked back over to Orlov, trying to see what else I could figure out about him. He was crying into his hands now, his sobs barely audible over the sound of the truck’s engine. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him. I sank back in my seat, my eyes wide as I imagined what was to come, hugging myself. I prayed that I just wouldn’t have to kill anyone and that I could save as many people as possible. Ronan put his hand on my shoulder, giving me a weak smile in the hopes that it might lighten my spirits a little. It did, but only for a short while.

 

When we arrived at the building that we were to use as a forward operating base, Major Sokolov had us all set up our cots for the long night that we’d have before we moved on Olympia and took control of the state government. Then we’d move to the border of Washington and British Columbia and try to secure that border. It wasn’t until late that night, after everyone had eaten and was already either asleep or trying to find some way to get to sleep, that I realized British Columbia was the part of Canada Kara lived in. During the long months of training and trying to focus on surviving I’d had little time to think about Kara or how long it had been since I’d heard from her. Most of my spare time had been spent sleeping or thinking and praying for my family. Something told me that they were ok, but I also didn’t want to hope for the best and then have the worst come to fruition. 

 

I pulled my blanket up until it was covering my head, rolling onto my side as I took a deep breath, my eyes fluttering shut after being shielded from the florescent lights that flickered above me. I wondered if Kara knew what was happening here. Surely she did, it would be hard to ignore a war if it was practically going on in your backyard, right? Then again, we had barely noticed Russian ships on our shores until they had landed. I shoved my blanket off of me, leaning over the side of my bed to grab my phone from my backpack. I had kept it with me all this time, hoping that maybe I’d get some use out of it again soon. Most of the American recruits had gotten their phones confiscated to help them focus on training and to give us all the sense that we couldn't go back to the way things used to be.

 

But I had kept mine hidden away, just in case, even though the battery in it had died during the first week of training, even with airplane mode on. I brought my blanket back over my head, staring through the darkness at the blank, dead screen of the device I'd once used for almost everything. My heart sank as memories raced through my mind, memories of the days when I could press the home button and one of Kara’s drawings would appear on the lit up screen. It had been my favorite of her drawings, actually and I had spent a lot of time just looking at it, more time than I would ever want to admit. Looking at it had given me ideas for stories and was a constant reminder that, as exceptional as Kara was, she wasn't just a figment of my imagination. It wasn’t anything crazy, it had just been two hands, their fingers barely holding on as they reached out to each other. But now, staring at that blank screen, I wondered if the hands were actually being pulled away from one another more than they were being brought together. 

 

The thought made my stomach clench and tears stung my eyes. I brought the phone down and let it hang loosely in my fingers as I closed my eyes, my chest growing tighter as I resisted the urge to cry. Why was I doing this? These people had destroyed my life, taken everything from me and now they expected me to fight for them, heal their wounds and make sure they stayed healthy. Why was I fighting for them when I could just as easily be destroying them?

 

“Hey, new blood,” a voice whispered, making me jump a little. I wiped the tears from my eyes, shoving my phone underneath my thigh as I sat up, moving the blanket off of my head. I looked around, seeing Annie standing next to my cot, holding her sleeping stuff against her side. Her smug expression seemed to soften into a gentle smile when her eyes met mine, making my heart race a little. “Mind if I take the stop next to you?” She asked, nodding to the empty cot that sat to the right of mine. I nodded, sniffling a little as she walked around me and set her things down on the empty cot. She set up her sleeping bag and everything before sitting down on the edge of the cot, pausing for a moment as she looked me over.

 

“Do you need something?” I asked, shifting uncomfortably under her stare. 

 

“Why were you crying?” She asked, her dark eyes piercing through me as her words made my heart race with nervousness. I looked away from her, trying to regain some semblance of stability even though I could feel my foundation crumbling beneath my feet. 

 

“I was just thinking about someone I miss,” I said simply, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt like I could trust this soldier for some reason. I mean, she had warned me about Orlov and how I would need to be careful. But the reasons for not trusting her were much bigger than that. She was one of the people who was destroying my home and forcing me to do the same.

 

“Who do you miss?” She asked, catching me off guard. I had expected her to drop the subject, but when I looked up to meet her eyes, she looked interested, curious as she looked me over. 

 

“Why do you want to know?” I countered, but my voice was weak. I normally had a pretty easy time reading people, but being under severe stress usually put me so on edge that I didn’t trust anyone. She shrugged, smiling a little. 

 

“I figured that I would ask a pretty girl some questions before I went out to put my life on the line again,” she drawled, her eyes glimmering as I felt my cheeks heat up. I laughed nervously, running my fingers through my hair, trying to hide my blush. 

 

“Don’t joke with me right now,” I said weakly, but I couldn’t help smiling a little. I wasn’t sure why, but the comment made me happy. It had never been normal for people to compliment me like that, but the fact that Annie had made me feel sort of normal again, like my whole world hadn't fallen apart. “I’m in a bit of a fragile state.” It wasn’t a total lie, just a joke to keep the game going.

 

“You’re Emma Scott, right?” She asked, the smirk that tugged at her lips never leaving her face. I nodded, smiling a little. 

 

“The one and only,” I replied, turning so that I was facing her, my legs crossed under the thin blanket I’d been using. “What’s your name?” Just to make sure that she was the person I’d been told she was, you know?

 

“Lieutenant Annie Zima,” she said, sitting up straight and saluting as she winked at me. “At your survive, Private Scott.” I laughed softly, shaking my head.

 

“Why the hell would a lieutenant want to sleep near a private?” I asked, feeling a bit of suspicion mixing with my earlier amusement. “Don’t you guys get a special place to sleep and extra rations?” The woman across from me shrugged and leaned back on her hands, still looking at me with that sharp gaze. 

 

“It’s more fun to be with the lower level troops,” she replied. “Plus, you’re interesting. You and that friend of yours aren’t like the other Americans we’ve found.”

 

“How so?” I asked, leaning forward as curiosity overwhelmed my suspicion. 

 

“Most of them joined because they hated this country and what it stood for,” she replied, a dark look flashing over her face, I barely noticed it before it disappeared completely. “I watched one man blow a hole in an American Army base, giving up his own life to do so. He just laughed, even after he’d strapped the bombs to his chest.” I swallowed hard, feeling myself deflate a little. I had known for a long time that there were people that hated America, despite living here for most of their lives, but I had heard few stories of people acting on their hatred so drastically. “I feel sorry for you and your friend, honestly.” I looked back into her eyes, her words striking me deep for some reason. I had never expected to hear those words from someone like her. 

 

“Why?” I whispered, barely able to ask the question because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer. She stared at me, her eyes darkening as her features fell and her words left her lips. 

 

“Because you’re some of the only people here that are going to feel remorse for killing people they never knew.”

 

I woke up the next morning to an alarm being set off and people running around to grab their gear and get dressed. I jumped out of bed, getting ready as quickly as I possibly could, my heart racing faster and faster as the time to move out grew nearer. Somewhere among the chaos, I found Ronan and we kept close to each other as we were loaded into the trucks. I hadn’t seen Annie once. 

 

The ride was short, too short. The sun had only just begun to rise as the truck I was in drew to a stop. When I stepped out of the truck, the world was silent, almost like the earth itself was holding its breath in anticipation for what was to come. We all stood in our ranks, Ronan and me in the front line of soldiers, our rifles slung over our shoulders as we held a salute. We were the only squad that had been sent to attack the capital and there were no more than thirty of us, a mixture of Americans and Russian soldiers. Though the Russian soldiers had been put through years of military training, it was hard to tell the Americans apart from them. In dark green uniforms with guns and hard helmets, we all looked the same. Soldiers, ready to receive our orders and begin our attack on the sleeping city. 

 

Major Sokolov stepped forward, standing in front of us all as he examined us. He was much more intimidating in the daylight, his large body and square jaw reminding me of some sort of hulked out, cartoon army man. He was wearing the same uniform as the rest of us, but he had medals pinned to his chest and right shoulder, his hat slightly hiding his eyes from view. His face was unreadable, almost devoid of any emotion as he began to speak.

 

“We move on Olympia,” he said, his voice booming around us and echoing through the cold morning air. “After we take their capital, we take their border. Remember, my friends, that this is no time for doubt or shifting loyalties. We fight as one and live to fight together another day. We are one army, are we not? So fight for your lives, soldiers. You’ll like to have them when the day is done, I’m sure.” His words were loud and powerful, but solemn, like there was a river of emotion underneath that he was keeping under wraps. 

 

“Yes, sir,” we all shouted as one, letting our salute fall and falling into an at ease stance. I put my hands behind my back, my back still straight as I spread my legs into a wider stance. 

 

“We move in twenty minutes,” he added as he walked away. “Be ready to run to the city as fast as you are able. Make sure your equipment is ready.” We all repeated our last response, waiting until he was out of sight to fully relax. Most people stayed standing, but a few sat down on the asphalt, lighting cigarettes or pulling out books to read. 

 

I stayed standing, looking out at the horizon as the sun peeked out above the rooftops. The government must’ve put a curfew in place because there were no cars to be seen and all the lights in every building were out. I let out a long breath, trying to push down the anxiety I felt rising in my chest. How did this happen? It almost didn’t feel like it was even real anymore. 

 

“Hey,” Ronan said gently, putting his hand on my shoulder, making me jump a little. I let out a tense sigh, fixing my helmet on top of my head. “You ok?” I nodded, smiling as best I could.

 

“Could be worse,” I said simply, giving him a quick once over. He had gained a lot of muscle mass since we’d started training, but his normally optimistic attitude had begun to disappear. “What about you? Are you ready for this?” He laughed softly, shaking his head as he pulled his rifle close. 

 

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for something like this,” he said, his bright blue eyes meeting mine. “Not even if I trained for a hundred years.”

 

“I’m sorry I got you into all this,” I blurted out, unable to stop myself. I had said it a thousand times and he always told me not to apologize, but this was my fault. “If it wasn’t for me, you might be safe right now, somewhere where you wouldn’t have to kill people.” 

 

“Em,” he said softly, putting both his hands on my shoulders. I looked up at him, the familiarity of his gaze making me feel more and more calm the more I looked into them. He’d been my best friend since we were kids. He’d been there for me through everything from stupid crushes to coming out to my Christian parents right after high school. We’d always been there for each other and this was no different, but that didn’t change the fact that he was here because of me. If he died today, it would be my fault because I made him do this. “You made this deal to save us both. Sure, maybe it’d be nice if shit had turned out different, but we’re here now. There’s not much we can do about that now.”

 

“But what if something happens?” I asked weakly, starting to shake as the possibility of death crept into my mind. “This could be it for us.” He caught my meaning without me having to spell it out, which was a bit of a relief since I really didn’t want to elaborate on an idea with such a feeling of finality behind it. His jaw grew tense as he thought, a smile slowly tugging at his lips. “What? Why are you smiling?” It was sort of frightening, really.

 

“Because if this is it, then we won’t have to go through any more hell than we already have,” he whispered, his eyes sparkling a little. My heart dropped into my stomach like a rock. I understood why that made him so happy, but that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to make it through this so that I could save more people if I could, maybe ever find my friends and family and make sure they were safe. 

 

“Promise that you’ll stay with me,” I said shakily, grabbing the front of his shirt, trying to sound as firm as I could. “I know it’s a selfish thing to ask, but please, promise that you won’t die unless you have no other choice.” It sounded stupid, even to my own ears, but I couldn’t not say it. “I can’t imagine a world without my best friend in it.” The words seemed to catch him off guard because his smile faded and tears welled up in his eyes. He nodded, pressing his lips into a hard line and he pulled me into a hug, practically crushing me with how tight he was holding me, but I didn’t mind. I hugged him back, swallowing the lump in my throat and trying to mentally prepare for whatever came next.

 

Time didn’t slow after that. If anything, it spend up, Major Sokolov giving the order to advance just after I’d managed to calm myself down enough to breath. Ronan and I went in together, our rifles raised and pointed just in front of us as we slowly made our way towards the city. It didn't take long for us to reach the edge of the city, the sound of heavy boots hitting asphalt the only sound that I hear besides birds and crickets. The Major signaled for half of us to search the Eastern part of the city while the rest searched the Western side. I was part of the team that searched the east side while Ronan was put into the team that went to the west. Everything was quiet for a little while, none of us hardly dared to breath because if we did then the world might wake itself up. It wasn't until we were walking through a shopping plaza that everything went to hell. 

 

“Russian bastards!” A man screamed, using a shotgun to open fire on us. The soldier to my right fell to the ground screaming in pain as he basically blocked the buckshot from hitting me.

 

“Get to cover!” Someone shouted, pulling me the slow motion my mind had created and placing me back in the middle of that parking lot with a bleeding man at my feet. It took everything in me not to just leave the soldier who'd fallen beside me and run. I slung my rifle over my shoulder to secure it, grabbing the man under his shoulders and dragging him behind a parked car. He was screaming in pain, his eyes screwed shut as he put his hand to his side. The buck shot had torn his left side and arm to shreds and blood had begun pooling around him.

 

“Holy shit,” I muttered, trying to catch my breath. I dropped my rifle to the ground, doing the same to my backpack and taking out the medical supplies I had with me. I honestly had no idea whether it would help him at this point, but it was worth a try. I set the bandages and stitching aside, pulling back his uniform shirt. I silently thanked God himself that the man had been wearing a bulletproof vest, so the wound wasn't as deep as I would've thought. But the man was still screaming, his head thrown back against the car we were hiding behind.

 

“Hey,” I said, trying to get his attention, but my voice was weak and shaking. This was all so much, my head was spinning and I could feel my heart hammering inside my chest. 

 

Come on, Emma, I thought to myself, trying to stay as calm as I could under the circumstances. You have to do something, get him to calm down at least a little or it'll only make this all worse. I looked down to see his dog tags hanging from his neck and I picked them up to look at them. 

 

“Popov,” I said his last name firmly, catching his gaze with mine. His eyes were wide and his chest was heaving, more and more blood spilling from his wounds. “Stay calm, you need to stop screaming. I'm going to fix this, but you need to stay calm.” He looked up at me, fear filling his dark brown eyes.

 

“How do I know I can trust you?” He asked. That normally would've caught me off guard, but I didn't have time to mess around with shit like that.

 

“If I wanted you dead I would've left you out in the open,” I said firmly, supporting him as I helped him lay down on his right side. “Now shut up and let me fix this.” He didn't say anything after that, but even if he did it would've been almost impossible to hear him. Gunshots rang through the air and people were shouting in English and Russian as they fought, finding cover and trying not to get shot. More people had joined the man who'd ambushed us, they'd probably been planning for this. I didn't blame them, my family probably would've wanted to do the same thing. 

 

I did everything I could to stop the bleeding on the man’s side, finding that his left arm had taken most of the damage. I tied a tourniquet around his bicep, hoping to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible. It wasn't easy, and I was sweaty and covered in blood by the time I'd helped him, but the bleeding finally stopped and I dressed the wound as best I could in my shaky state.

 

“We have to help them take down the ambush,” the soldier said, trying to sit up. I put my hand on his shoulder, lowering him to the ground again.

 

“If you get up, I'll shoot you myself,” I said, grabbing my rifle and making sure it was loaded. I'm not really sure how it happened, but my mind had suddenly gone from utter panic to complete concentration. 

 

The magazine in my rifle was full, the safety was off, and I was ready. I didn't have to kill anyone, I just had to lay down cover fire so that these people wouldn't pop their heads up to start shooting again. Right?

 

I peeked my head up over the trunk of the car we were hiding behind. I saw the man with his shotgun standing on top of a truck, shouting curses and firing at two soldiers I saw hiding behind a dumpster. There were three other men, one with an AK and the other with a handgun and another with a rifle like mine, shooting towards where soldiers were hiding behind cover. I raised my rifle, aiming right for the man on the truck, my sight locked on his right thigh. It wasn't immediately fatal and someone would probably help him before he lost too much blood, but he wouldn't be in any shape to keep fighting. I put my finger on the trigger, taking a deep breath as I pulled it. 

 

Time seemed to slow as it happened, almost like my body was screaming at me not to do it, but I had to. I couldn't let them kill the soldiers I was fighting with, even if it meant hurting someone who was supposed to be on my side. 

 

The trigger came back, the stock of the rifle hitting hard against my shoulder as the bullet flew the air and hit the man right in the hip, making him fall back and off the truck, onto the asphalt. I let out a ragged breath, hurrying behind cover again as the man with the handgun spun toward us, firing at the tire I was crouched behind. I cursed, trying to catch my breathe while also trying to regain myself. I hadn't been the worst when it came to target practice during training, but I definitely hadn't expected to hit the first person I shot at, even if I was a little off target. I probably shattered the man’s hip, which was, from what I'd heard, extremely painful and hard to treat. 

 

But I didn't have much time to worry about that. The man with the handgun had run over to where the injured soldier and I were, aiming his gun right at me as he rounded the corner.

 

“Get in the ground, fucker!” He shouted at me, his eyes wide with fear and adrenaline. I dropped my rifle on the ground, putting my hands in the air.

 

“I'm sorry,” I said shakily, feeling my body shaking in fear as I stared down the barrel of a loaded gun, the man behind it staring at me like I was some sort of monster. “Please, I didn't kill your friend, I just needed him to stop firing at the other soldiers. We mean no harm.”

 

“Shut the fuck up!” The man screamed, pressing the end of the barrel to my forehead. It was hot against my skin, but I didn't move, I couldn't move. Hell, I could barely breathe. Maybe this really was it. Maybe this was when everything ended for me. I'd never see my family again. I'd never eat anything else or talk to anyone else. I was going to die and I could feel it in my bones. I squeezed my eyes shut, but when the gun went off, I didn't feel anything. I opened my eyes, seeing Annie standing over the man who’d had his gun to my head, but he was on the ground now, blood pooling around his head as his lifeless eyes stared into nothingness. 

 

“I've been looking everywhere for you, new blood,” Annie said, her face covered in dirt and gunpowder as she reached her hand out to me. I took it, relief washing over me when I saw that the other two shooters had been taken care of. “Are you guys alright?” She asked me. I nodded, swallowing dryly.

 

“Thank you for that,” I managed to say, getting a smile and a shrug from the taller woman. 

 

“Don’t mention it, you can just buy me dinner when all this is over,” she replied, winking at me. I rolled my eyes, suddenly remembering the injured soldier. I turned around, seeing that he was still laying on the ground, his hand pressed to his side.

 

“We need to get him immediate medical attention,” I said hurriedly, helping him to his feet and having him lean on me. He was much heavier than he had been before since all the adrenaline from being shot at had worn off.

 

“You're the only medical personnel we have, remember?” Annie said, helping me hold him up. My heart sank as I looked the soldier over. He was pale and his bandages were starting to stain red from the blood that was leaking through. 

 

“But he's going to need surgery on his arm,” I protested. “I haven't been trained to treat such severe wounds.” 

 

“It's called learning on the job,” Annie said simply. My heart dropped because I knew that there was a huge possibility that I wouldn't be able to save this man’s life. 

 

We all made our way into an abandoned building to regroup with the Major and the other half of the squad. They had three minorly injured that I had to treat and by the time everyone was ready to move out, I was exhausted. I had finally finished Popov’s surgery just before, having taken bits of buckshot from the muscles in his arm and side, stitching him back together and trying to clean it all out as best I could. Just as I washed my hands of blood and sat down in an old office chair, Annie came up to me, looking focused and only slightly concerned.

 

“We’re ready to move again,” she said, her hands in her pockets. It was then that I noticed the medals pinned to her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

 

“Do I have a choice?” I asked, getting a small smile out of the taller woman. I could feel my eyelids growing heavy and my muscles ached. We had walked all the way back here, Popov leaned against me as we walked for about five miles across the city to find Major Sokolov. 

 

“You mean you don’t like running around and being shot at while also having to save people's lives?” Annie teased, getting a tired chuckle to escape me. It had been awhile since anyone had been able to make me laugh, but she managed it more often than I would’ve wanted to admit. It almost felt wrong to joke at a time like this, when people’s lives were at stake and I was someone who was supposed to save them. It was anxiety inducing, really. How was I supposed to be the person these soldiers expected me to be? What if I hadn’t been able to save Popov, or what if it had been me that had been shot and not him? What if Annie hadn’t saved me?

 

“I didn’t save your life so you could look so sad,” Annie joked, tapping the top of my head to get my attention. I looked up at her, feeling a little more calm just from the way she was smiling. It was almost like she knew how things would turn out, that everything was going to be alright someday.

 

“I’m sorry,” I replied lamely, running my fingers through my messy hair. “I just never thought things would turn out like this. In fact, I was pretty much convinced that they wouldn’t turn out this way.” 

 

“I don’t think any of us expected this,” she said, sitting down in the chair next to mine. “I’ve been part of this army for almost five years now and I never thought things would go this far. Even with all the talk, our leaders did of taking down America and making them pay for what they’ve done, I never thought they’d go through with it.” I looked over to her, watching her face as she thought back on memories that didn't seem pleasant.

 

“Why is your country doing this?” I asked, one of my biggest questions finally escaping me before I could stop it. Annie sighed, pursing her lips and pausing before giving me an answer. 

 

“After decades of watching your country act like egocentric morons, the leaders of my country decided that it was time to end what your country had started,” she replied stiffly, her shoulders tense. “The day before we were shipped overseas, one of our main military commanders told us that it was time to end America’s reign of self-destruction.” We sat in silence for awhile, my mouth hanging open a little as I processed what I’d just been told. 

 

“Do you know what they meant by that?” I asked, watching Annie’s features grow dark.

 

“We were ordered to kill those who resisted and leave the rest to rebuild,” she replied, finally meeting my gaze. “So I’m guessing that what they want is for us beat you down, but not destroy you. It is only to teach your countrymen a lesson.” 

 

“But what about all the innocent people who are going to die because of it?” I protested, feeling fear and anger boiling in my veins. 

 

“Innocent people die every day, Emma,” she said softly. “There’s little we can do to stop that from happening unless we show the world what selfishness and greed can create.”

 

“But not all of us are like that,” I managed, holding back tears. “We don’t all deserve to die.” 

 

“You won’t die,” she said firmly, holding my gaze and putting her hand over mine. “I will not let you die and I will not kill an innocent. But I cannot promise that for the rest of these soldiers.” Her words took me off guard, causing me to deflate a little. 

 

“What are you talking about?” I asked softly, seeing Annie’s jaw tense. 

 

“It is as I said,” she replied firmly. “I won’t let you die.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and have an awesome day!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit really starts to go downhill... At first... Then it gets a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's another chapter of this lol. I hope you guys like this! I promise that I'll be updating this one more if you guys want, it just might take some time.

Gunfire rang through the air so loudly that I could barely hear myself think. Which had stopped bothering me after two years of nonstop war. But that day was different. Out of all the battlefields I’d fought on, this one looked the most like the ones I’d seen in the movies. We were in a field covered in bloodstained grass and craters where RPGs had landed their hits. Bodies from days of firefights littered the ground, some bloated from several days in the sunlight, others freshly fallen. Luckily for myself and my fellow soldiers, few of them were ours. But the few deaths of the soldiers I fought with weighed heavily on me, even as I fought to protect and heal those who were left. 

 

I sat in a trench, Annie at my side, our weapons aimed at enemies that shot at us from a house that was full of bullet holes after days of fighting. We’d tried to go easy on the building because the enemy had kept explosives in the basement as well as some other classified information that the major wanted to find as soon as possible and as intact as possible. He’d even gone as far as sending a small team of soldiers to infiltrate the house and see if they could disarm the soldiers inside and take the information to stop the fighting. Ronan had been on that recon team and they had moved out what felt like forever ago. Annie and I had been put on the front lines in case they had injured when they returned. 

 

A gunshot whizzed past my head when I tried to look over the side of the trench, making me duck back behind cover. If my heart hadn’t been hammering in my chest before, it certainly was now. I looked over at Annie, her chest heaving as she reloaded her rifle with practiced speed before looking over the trench again. She aimed and took a shot before I could breathe and she was back behind cover just after that. 

 

“Fucking Americans,” she spat, her face tight with determination before throwing me a shit eating grin. “No offense.” A harsh laugh left my lips and I leaned my head back against the mound of dirt that basically separated me from death. 

 

“None taken,” I replied. “I take it as a compliment, really. We’ve always been a stubborn bunch of bastards.” A few shots hit the mound of dirt behind me, flinging dust and a small amount of debris into the air. I barely flinched, having almost grown used to having bullets hurled in my general direction by now. Annie chuckled, breathing a heavy sigh.

 

“I’m glad that the most stubborn ones seem to be on our side then,” she said before peaking up over the mound again. But she was overly confident this time. Horror gripped me as a shot that almost seemed louder than the rest rang out. Annie screamed in pain as a bullet pierced right through her shoulder, sending her falling onto her back against the dirt beneath us. It was barely a moment before I sprang into action, pulling her back up against cover and leaning her against the dirt mound. She winced, her eyes screwed shut for a moment and her teeth clenched. 

 

“Fuck,” she said in English. I blinked back frightened tears, knowing that I wouldn’t have been half as scared if she had just been another soldier. I let out a bitter laugh as I tore off the left sleeve of her uniform jacket to get a better look at the wound.

 

“I didn’t know you spoke English,” I said in Russian out of pure habit. She groaned, opening her eyes to look at me. 

 

“I only know curse words,” she confessed, holding the remnants of her sleeve to the side so I could look at where the bullet had entered her flesh. It was a clean wound, the bullet had gone straight through, but there was more blood than I’d expected. 

 

“Hold still,” I scolded her. She was fidgeting, looking from me to just behind her to see if she could get a look at whoever had shot her.

 

“Son of a bitch is going to pay for that one,” she grumbled. I grabbed a thread and needle out of my pack after cleaning to entrance wound, sewing it shut and putting a bandage over it with tape to make it stay. 

 

“I need to see the other side,” I said, concentrating as much as I could past the rising anxiety I felt swelling in my chest. She turned a little, still managing to stay behind cover.

 

“You’re cute when you’re focused,” she teased. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, focusing on the task at hand. 

 

“Are you seriously flirting with me when I’m sewing up a hole in your shoulder?” I asked, not the least bit surprised. Annie made a habit of saying things like that. I tried to ignore it, especially when we were being shot at.

 

“What better time is there?” She retorted. I was unable to hold back my eye roll that time and she chuckled, almost making me poke her with the needle. “I may be seeing the light any minute now. You should kiss me now before it’s too late.” I laughed softly, putting a bandage over the stitches.

 

“Oh, please.” Was all I could say. I hated that I was getting flustered in the middle of a firefight, but I couldn’t help it. Annie was beautiful and strong and hilarious even when things seemed to be at their most grim. 

 

“I know you want to,” she teased, grinning at me as I situated myself next to her to ensure I didn’t get shot at next. “Plus, you shouldn’t deny the dying wish of a soldier. I might come back and haunt you.” That made me scoff as I cleaned the mud off the barrel of my gun.

 

“And what? Watch me shower?” 

 

“Hey, just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I can’t spend the afterlife enjoying myself,” she replied, winking at me. 

 

“You’re insane,” I breathed, risking a glance over the dirt mound I was leaning against. There was a figure in the distance, running towards us from the house, holding a gun and some sort of briefcase. I recognized the figure almost immediately and my heart stopped when I saw the glint of a scope inside the house as one of the enemy soldiers took aim. I wanted to scream at him to run faster, but I readied my rifle instead, aiming at the person in one of the second-floor windows. I didn’t even breathe before I took the shot. I didn’t need to kill the person, I just needed them to hide so he could get to cover. But my bullet found its mark and I saw blood splatter as a body fell. I looked back at the figure running across the field, a look of horror in his bright blue eyes as he ran for his life. 

 

“Ronan, run!” I screamed at him, but the last of the warning was cut off by gunfire. Even as the bullet pierced his side, he kept running, even if he had slowed. Another shot came, bursting through his chest, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees. Time slowed to a crawl. I screamed, but it sounded far away as a final shot rang out. His eyes met mine as the bullet burst through his forehead, blood spattering out in front of him like a mist as his eyes went dark. He fell forward, face first into the torn up grass. 

 

I sprang to my feet, ready to run out to help when I was pulled back just in time to practically see a bullet whiz past me. Annie pulled me down into the trench before pinning me to the ground, her eyes fiery and her chest heaving.

 

“No, Emma, you can’t go out there,” she commanded, holding me down as I struggled against her with all my strength. Even with an injured shoulder, she was stronger than I was. Tears stung my eyes and I pounded against her chest, but she didn’t even flinch.

 

“Let me go,” I demanded, my vision going red around the edges. “I have to help him, I have to save him.” I said the second part in English without realizing it, but I didn’t care if she understood me. I had to save him. He was hurt and I was the one who was supposed to help him.

 

“You can’t, it’s no use,” Annie insisted, her voice firm as she took my wrists in her hands, pinning them against the mud underneath me as she stared me in the eyes. “You’ll die if you go out there.” I cursed the sob that escaped my lips, my limbs suddenly feeling weak and heavy with realization. 

 

“I have to help him,” I begged, feeling tears stream down my face. “Please, please, he’ll die.” 

 

“He’s already dead, Emma,” she said firmly, catching my gaze with hers again. “There’s nothing you can do.” 

 

Her words echoed through my mind as I fell limp against the ground, turning my head away from her as I let myself sob into the dirt. 

 

There’s nothing I can do.

 

 

Ronan had managed to get the information we’d needed from the enemy soldiers. The rest of the squad that had gone with him died before they could get out of the house. He’d barely made it out to get to the middle of that field. While most of the bodies of our dead soldiers were sent back to Russia, Ronan’s and a few others were buried in a local cemetery. That’s what we’d always done for fallen American soldiers. We didn’t know if they had a family to send remains to or if they even had one, so we’d bury them near where they’d fallen and their honors were given to their closest friend within the ranks. He was buried in a city called Burien in Washington and a medal of honor for his bravery was given to me along with his dog tags. 

 

I threw myself into my work and endless routine I’d learned in training after that. We had a single raid a few days later and I had gotten reckless. It was supposed to be an easy mission, clear the town and move on. But I’d gotten sloppy. We’d pin down the last of their soldiers and were going to take them in for questioning. But as we were questioning them before taking them back to base, one of them mentioned the battle outside of Burien. I snapped, breaking his arm before almost putting a bullet through his skull. I would’ve too if Annie hadn’t stopped me. I was reprimanded after the debriefing, though no disciplinary measures were taken. 

 

I sat in the med bay of the base, my head in my hands as I stared down at a few papers on my desk, tears staining the pages and smudging the ink as my chest ached from hours of sobbing into the silence. I had barely heard the door open before Annie was pulling me out of my chair, slamming me against the wall as she gripped the collar of my shirt. I froze, scared to death as she pinned me to the wall, knocking the air from my lungs. Her dark green eyes stared into mine, full of fiery anger as she ground her teeth together behind closed lips.

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She growled, so close to me that I could feel her breath against my skin as my heart thudded against my ribs. “You can’t just put yourself and others in danger like that. Are you a fucking moron or something? I thought you were supposed to be a medic, not a psychopath!” The tears had begun to stream down my face again as she spoke, a mixture of regret and anger filling my chest.

 

“I’m sorry,” I said shakily. “I couldn’t stop myself. I thought he was the one who… Who…”

 

“Killed an enemy soldier?” Annie cut in. “Killed someone he thought was threatening his livelihood, his family, his friends, the people that he cares about.”

 

“Ronan wasn’t just another soldier!” I shouted at her, but my anger didn’t come out physically. I could barely move at all when I was stuck between Annie and a hard place. “He was my best friend. He was practically my brother and they killed him, slaughtered him right in front of me.”

 

“And you wouldn’t have done the same exact thing in their shoes?” she challenged, making me freeze for the second time in the last two minutes. “It doesn’t matter who it is, you don’t risk your life for people like that, especially after they’re already dead.” 

 

“Why are you so upset about this in the first place? You were my enemy when this all started.” Annie’s grip only tightened on my shirt at my words and fear replaced the anger in her eyes. 

 

“I’m not your enemy,” she said lowly, her voice sending a shiver down my spine. “I told you that I would do anything to keep you alive, doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

 

“Who are you to tell me not to risk my life for someone when you’d do it for me?” I demanded, anger seeping into my voice. “Why would you do that for someone who’s part of the country you want to destroy?”

 

“Because I’m in love with you!” Her words echoed around us, vibrating through my skull and making me blink in confusion. “I love you, Emma. I… I love you.” She breathed the words like they were sacred, her grip on my shirt loosening as she looked into my eyes. I couldn’t speak. Hell, I could barely breathe. I wasn’t even sure if this was real. 

 

“Why -” But I couldn’t get the question out before her lips locked with mine, warm and sweet as my eyes slid shut. It had been years since I kissed someone and none of the people I’d ever kissed had been girls. Especially not pretty army girls. My heart sped up again, but a different fire flowed through my veins this time. Regardless, I couldn’t move. I was in shock, my body sort of limp against the wall behind me, Annie’s body the only thing supporting me besides my weak, shaking knees. We were both panting when she pulled away, staring at each other like we’d just done something impossible. 

 

“I just hope that means the same thing in English that it does in Russian,” she joked breathlessly, making me giggle softly. She smiled, her gaze softening as she moved to cup my cheek. But she hesitated, her eyes growing wide as she started to pull away. “I - I’m so sorry, I didn’t even ask first, I just sort of went for it. You have every right to punch me or kick me out or yell at me or whatever you want.” I couldn’t help smiling at how nervous Annie seemed. She was never like this, rambling and stuttering like an introvert about to give a report in front of the class. It was endearing. I cupped her cheeks in my hands, boldness overtaking me before I could second guess it. I kissed her, but it was softer than the first time, gentler and I pressed myself closer to her. I felt her gasp against my lips before wrapping her arms around me. It was the safest I’d felt in years, the most calm I’d been since I could remember. I had no idea how dangerous such a moment of vulnerability could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and have an awesome day!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara sees everything go to shit right before her very eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, more original stuff! I hope you guys enjoy this, even though it's not fan fiction. This chapter is from Kara's POV and there's a lot of angsty shit that happens, so just be prepared or skip it lol

Kara’s POV

_ Me, 10:13PM: Em, are you alright? I saw what happened on the news, LA got hit. I know you live around there.  _

 

_ Me, 10:24PM: Plus I haven’t gotten any messages from you today so I thought I’d check in.  _

 

_ Me, 10:36PM: Emma, if your getting these messages, please reply, I’m starting to get really worried. The videos they’re showing on the news are just horrible, especially along the coast.  _

 

_ Me, 11:02PM: Call not answered.  _

 

_ Me, 11:13PM: Emma, please, if your there, I’d like to know if you’re ok.  _

 

_ Me, 11:35PM: Call not answered. _

 

_ Me, 11:37PM: Come on, Emma, pick up the goddamn phone. If you’re doing this just to freak me out, I swear to god I’m running down all the way to Cali just to kick your sorry American ass.  _

 

_ Me, 11:45PM: Please be ok. _

 

_ Me, 11:46PM: Emma, please answer. _

 

_ Me, 12:10AM: They’re saying that California went dark 20 minutes ago. _

 

_ Me, 12:13AM: They don’t know how many people are dead yet. They estimate that half the population is already dead, missing or injured. They say that communications went down almost 30 minutes ago.  _

 

_ Me, 12:32AM: Please just be alive. _

  
  
  


The Russians landed on the American west coast on November 14th, 2016, their forces quickly multiplying and spreading until they had taken over the entirety of the United States. It only took them two years. Then they started getting closer to the border that separated the southern provinces of Canada and the northern states. They eventually got through, claiming most of the southern provinces after making an alliance with our government, promising to protect our people and cities from American rebel attacks. 

 

That didn’t quite go to plan, though. We found out that they had been recruiting Americans into their ranks and our government attacked for fear of being betrayed. One of the attacks happened in my own city, the battle taking more innocent lives than enemy ones. I remember sitting in my home, watching as snow fell through the air while my parents whispered about something in the kitchen. My dad wanted to leave before things got worse. There’d already been reports of rape and even pillaging in other cities that were as heavily occupied as ours, but my mom wanted to wait it out for another few days. There had been promises of driving the Russian troops back to the border, which was definitely easier said than done. My dad had even made me stop going to work after a few women in our neighborhood were taken away and never seen again. He said it was safer for me to stay home instead of driving to work early in the morning and being out until the evening. I hated it, mostly because being trapped in my house with my family for the past few weeks had me going a little stir crazy. I’d usually retreat into my room to draw or write, but it was hard to keep posting when all I wanted to do was go out for a little while. I hadn’t seen any of my friends in days, even though I’d been texting a few of them to make sure they were alright. 

 

“We can’t just pack up and leave everything behind, Marcus,” I heard my mom say from the kitchen. I sighed, leaning back against my couch as I stared out the window.

 

“We can’t just stay here like fish in a barrel, either,” my dad argued, the tenseness in his voice evident even from a room away. I took out my phone, unlocking it to see that I had left my Skype app open to Emma’s thread. I hadn’t gotten a message back in over two years, but I still looked at them sometimes. I didn’t always want to, they brought back memories that stung my eyes and made me sick to my stomach. But I missed her. I didn’t even know if she was alive. She could’ve died at the beginning, never knowing how bad it had gotten for anyone who’d had to live through it. Or she could still be alive, fighting to stay that way. 

 

Scrolling up past the probably hundreds of messages I had sent her since the day the attack began, I found where our last conversation. It had been light, happy, surface. She always asked me how my day was at work and I usually gave her the same answer, since work usually had been very “same old, same old.” We were supposed to play together that night when she got home from school. We were going to play games and laugh and relax after a long week. She was going to make stupid jokes and make horrible puns and I was supposed to call her a stupid American because she just assumed that I was lame because I lived in Canada.

 

“Kara, pack your things,” my dad said, making me jump as he pulled me from my thoughts I felt the smile that had started to form on my face fall as his tone.

“What? Why?” I asked, getting to my feet to follow him through the house to garage door. 

 

“We’re leaving in twenty minutes,” dad said, walking into the garage without another word. I turned to see my mom standing in the kitchen doorway, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. 

 

“What’s going on?” I asked, becoming more and more nervous by the second. Were we really leaving?

 

“Just do what your dad says,” she said sternly, walking to her bedroom and slamming the door. I sighed, walking down the hall to my room as I tried to keep myself calm. Freaking out would only make things worse. I walked down the hall, hearing my brother talking in a low voice to someone. I went to his door, seeing that it was open a little. Pushing it open more, I saw him sitting on his bed, his cell phone pressed to his ear as he looked up at me, his eyes wide.

 

“Dad says we’re leaving,” I told him, deciding to leave him to whatever it was he was doing. Even if he was acting weird. I’d just ask him about it later. He nodded and I walked out of his room, going to mine. I had started to packing and wondering what I should just leave behind when a loud thrumming noise echoed through the air and a strange rumble made the walls of the house shake. I practically jumped out of my skin at the sound and feeling of the earth moving beneath my feet. Getting to my feet, I ran to my window that looked over the front yard, seeing two armored cars and a tank rolling down the street, foot soldiers following close behind. The soldiers stopped in the middle of our street, standing at attention as a man in a much cleaner uniform and lots of badges on his coat held a megaphone, raising it as he spoke.

 

“Attention, civilians, please come outside and stand in front of your homes,” he ordered, looking from house to house as people walked out, most looking at the soldiers with hope on their faces. It was obvious they were part of our own military, but I couldn’t help the sense of unease at seeing so many battle ready soldiers. I walked out of my room after a moment of hesitation, stopping at my brother’s door to see that he was running his fingers through his hair and breathing heavily as he paced back and forth between his bed and closet. I stared at him for a moment, watching him warily as I could practically feel the fear and anxiety radiating off of him.

 

“Jack, what’s wrong?” I asked, stepping into his room. He jumped when he heard my voice, stopping in his tracks. 

 

“They’re here for me,” he said quickly, panic evident in his features as he tugged at his hair, his eyes screwing shut. “They’re here for me because I gave information to the occupying soldiers. They’re looking for me and they’re going to kill me. Fuck. Fuck!”

 

“Jack, calm down,” I said hurriedly, walking over to him and grabbing him by the soldiers. He looked into my eyes, his own wide and shimmering with tears as he tried to pull himself together. “What the hell are you talking about? Why would you tell the Russians anything?” Jackson took a deep breath, seeming to regain himself a little.

 

“I… One of the generals came to me when I was walking home from school,” he started, letting out a shaky sigh as he wiped his eyes. I wanted to pull him into a hug, help him calm down. He was my little brother and I wanted him to be ok, but I had to find out what was wrong first. After a pause, he continued, “He told me that he knew my friends were hunters and that if I didn’t tell him where they kept their guns, that he’d… He’d…”

 

“He’d what, Jack?” I asked, getting him to look into my eyes when he replied. 

 

“He’d kill you and mom and dad,” he said softly, burying his face in his hands as I felt him start to shake. “I basically armed them, Kara. I… I helped them fight against our own country. I just couldn’t let them hurt you guys, I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Hey, it’s ok,” I said as gently as my shaking voice would let me, pulling him in for a hug. My first reaction was to stop him from shaking, but my next was to smack him upside his stupid head and tell him what an idiot he was. But now wasn’t the time for that because I could see more people gathering outside. The soldiers were searching some of them, causing some people to protest, but few did anything to fight back. I saw one walking up to the front door, a rifle strapped to his back. I looked away from the window, holding Jackson at arm’s length as I looked into his eyes, my mind working faster than I would’ve expected. Normally, I would’ve started panicking, forgetting myself and the world around me. But Jackson needed someone to keep him stable. If the soldiers found out that he’d armed the enemy, they’d arrest him and probably put him in prison for treason. “Deep breaths. All you have to do is stay calm. They won’t do anything unless they have enough evidence.” Jackson nodded, taking a few shaking breaths before looking past me to whoever had walked up to the door. I turned around to see my mom standing there with fear in her eyes.

 

“The soldiers want us outside, come on,” she said, motioning for us to follow. I spared Jackson a glance, nodding as I took his hand. He nodded back, taking another deep breath as we followed mom down the hall and to the front door. My dad was already out in the yard, his arms spread at his sides as a soldier frisked him, searching him the way they had been doing to everyone else. Jackson, mom and I stood together, but my heart was racing in my chest even though my family was standing with me. The soldiers were everywhere and every single one of them had a gun. Not to mention the tank that stood in the middle of the street, the soldier with all the medals standing just in front of it as he watched his men follow their orders. I took a deep breath, eyeing the soldier that walked towards me, an almost too neutral expression on his face, his dark eyes staring through me instead of at me.

 

“Arms out, legs spread,” he ordered, motioning for me to let go of my brother’s hand. I did so, but not before sparing Jackson another glance. He was ramrod straight, his chest heaving slightly as his eyes flicked from the tank to the soldiers and to the soldier that had started searching me. Needless to say, being frisked was not pleasant. It felt a little like I was being searched for some evidence to a crime I didn’t have and didn’t commit. But I stayed still and let them search me, only starting to really let my nervousness show when they moved away from me and started to search Jackson. He had started to shake as soon as the soldier touched him, his face turned up towards the sky as the soldier reached into his pocket pulling out his cellphone. 

 

“What’s the passcode?” The soldier asked in an almost disinterested tone, his eyes locked with Jackson’s. Jackson hesitated, his chest starting to heave as his breathing got more shallow.

 

“I can’t tell you,” he said, his voice shaking. That’s when the soldier’s features went from neutral to suspicious. He turned and walked away, the phone still in his hand and Jackson looked like he was about to chase after the soldier. I grabbed his shoulder, keeping him where he was as the soldier made his way to the general. They were too far away for me to hear what they were saying, but by the glare the general threw at us it was not good. My stomach tied itself in knots, my heart hammering against the inside of my chest as the general took the phone and walked over, the soldier walking beside him. He stopped a few feet in front of Jackson, his eyes shifting from my brother to me, my parents and back again. 

 

“What is the code?” He asked, holding the device up so my brother could see the screen. Jackson looked away, shaking his head.

 

“I- I don’t know,” he said, his eyes locked on the snow covered grass beneath his feet. The general sighed, shaking his head and lowering the phone. I almost breathed a sigh of relief until I saw him reaching for the gun on his hip. My heart stopped and my body locked, keeping me frozen as he brought the gun out and pressed the barrel right into the middle of Jackson’s forehead. I heard my mom shout something, but dad grabbed her and held her where she was before she could intervene. I could barely breathe, let alone move as I watched my brother tremble, terror written across his face as he screwed his eyes shut. 

 

“I’m not going to ask you again,” the general warned, holding the phone so that he could type in whatever numbers my brother told him. I had no idea why he was being so stubborn about it, but the determination I’d seen in his eyes before had dissolved into fear as he tried to steady himself.

 

“3247,” Jackson said, though his voice trembled and his hands were balled into fists as he spoke. The general typed in the numbers, scrolling and tapping on the screen until he seemed to find what he wanted. He gave a long, sigh, lowering his gun and nodding towards Jackson.

 

“Kill him.”

 

The entire world seemed to slow down, the momentary flicker of relief I had felt barely a moment ago snapping out of existence as the soldier grabbed my brother’s shoulder and the him to the ground. Jackson landed on his hands and knees, letting out a sob as he begged for his life.

 

“You can’t do this!” Mom shouted, breaking away from dad’s hold and tackling the soldier to the ground. A gunshot rang through the air and a scream followed shortly after. I stared down in disbelief as the soldier, threw my mom off of him, her blood staining his uniform as he looked down at her. My body was as stiff as a board as I looked down at the hole in my mom’s stomach, blood seeping from it and into the snow. I heard Jackson scream in anger and looked up just in time to see him attack the soldier, tackling him to the ground as he laid into him, his fists making contact with the soldier’s face over and over again. I could almost feel it as the cracking sound of bones fracturing came with each blow before more shouts and screams and gunshots started echoing out around me. I looked up, seeing more soldiers aiming their rifles in our direction. 

 

_ This is it,  _ I thought to myself, my heart slamming against my ribs as my lung ached for breath. But just when I was prepared to accept what was about to happen to me, I felt someone take my hand and pull me back towards the house. I followed, practically being dragged as my stiff legs carried me into the house. Gunshots rang out and I heard bullets whiz past me before I got into the house, whoever had taken my hand dragging me down the hall.

 

“Kara,” Jackson’s voice gasped, his hands on my shoulders as he shook me back into reality. I hadn’t realized that I was gasping for air until I looked into my brother’s eyes, but I couldn’t stop my heart from racing. “We need to run, do you understand me?” I could barely understand him past the gunshots and the screaming and shouting coming from outside. “Kara, we have to run. Can you run?” All I could do was nod, but I knew I could run if that’s what I needed to do. I didn’t have much of a choice at this point. But Jackson didn’t have much time to decide if I was telling the truth or not, because his eyes widened as he looked over my shoulder. Without another word, I was being dragged down the hall again towards his room as gunfire rang through the house. We barely made it into his room and he slammed the door, running over to his window and throwing it open as he grabbed his backpack. He must’ve had it fully packed already. 

“Come on!” He shouted, shoving me towards the open window. As I climbed out, landing in the snow beneath the window, I heard the sound of wood snapping and splintering and more gunfire. But I saw Jackson jump out the window, barely landing on his feet as he stumbled forward, taking my hand and starting to run again. We ran through the snow, my socks growing damp even through my boots, but I barely noticed when my lungs were aching and stinging from the cold air and lack of even breathing. We ran even after we reached the treeline, hearing soldiers shouting behind us as we ran between the trees. I barely felt my clothes snag against bushes and tree bark as we ran, though the scratches I’d gotten through the sleeves of my turtle neck had started to sting. 

 

I don’t know how long we’d kept running, but we finally stopped when Jackson stumbled, yelping in pain as he collapsed into the snow. He cursed, holding his hand to his side as he tried to catch his breath. I started to come back to myself then, seeing that blood had soaked through my brother’s shirt and was seeping between his fingers. 

“Oh, fuck,” I gasped, moving closer to him and pressing both my hands to the wound. He let out a hiss of pain between his teeth, panting as he leaned his head down, his forehead pressed to the ground. “Just- fuck, just hang on, Jack,” I said breathlessly, going to take off my turtleneck so that I could press it to his side and hopefully stop the bleeding, but he grabbed my wrist, stopping me. I looked down at him, my heart sinking down into the pit of my stomach as I looked into his eyes. He shook his head, swallowing before going to speak. 

 

“It’s not worth it,” he said, his voice raspy and hard from running for so long. 

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” I spat, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t. His breathing was already growing shallow and he was deathly pale, his blood flowing from his body and into the snow, staining it crimson as I tried to think of something, anything to help him. We could get out of this. He would be ok, I just had to find a way to get him help. 

“You have to keep going,” he grunted, taking off the backpack he’d been wearing, holding it out to me as his arm shook with the effort, letting it fall onto the ground. “Take this and go south. Th-that general I told you about, he’ll keep you safe. You just have to make it to the border, that’s where he took his troops. 

 

“I’m not leaving you,” I told him, feeling his blood coating my hands and making it sticky. I was having a hard time not just passing out from the way I could feel his breathing getting faster and faster, seeing his eyes glaze over. 

 

“Kara,” he softly, almost too softly to hear as he looked up into my eyes. 

 

“Don’t talk,” I told him, tears stinging my eyes and blurring my vision. 

 

“Go,” he croaked, taking my hands and moving them away from his side, blood pouring freely from it when there was no pressure. 

 

“I can’t just-” but I stopped when I saw his eyes start to close, his breaths turning to small gasps. “No. No, no, no, no,” I sobbed, grabbing the front of sweatshirt and shaking him a few times. “Jack! Jack, wake up! You gotta stay awake. Open your eyes, Jack. Jack!” But he didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t even move and his chest wasn’t rising and falling anymore. He was completely still even though blood was still slowly spilling from the hole in his side. I felt tears stream down my cheeks, landing on his sweatshirt as I stared down at his face, just hoping for a spark. Some kind of sign, anything that would prove to me that he was still… still… 

 

“Jack,” I whispered, leaning down to burying my face in his chest. “Please wake up. We gotta keep going. They could still be after us.” But he didn’t move, his features slack and his mouth barely open a fraction from what I would’ve guessed had been his last breath. 

 

I don’t know how long I had slept for after watching Jackson die, but I was covered in snow when I finally came too, shivering as I looked around at the darkened forest. I must’ve slept through the rest of that day. I didn’t spend much time there after that. Instead, I picked up the backpack Jackson had told me to take, giving his lifeless body one last look before getting to my feet and slinging the backpack over my shoulder. I couldn’t look back as I walked away. Not even to see if any soldiers were following me. I didn’t care. They could shoot me in the back at this point, but at least I had a plan. Find the general who had forced Jackson to give him information and get what I needed in return for my brother’s life. For my family’s lives. 

  
Revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Go ahead and leave me a reply to lemme know what you think, I'm definitely gonna keep going with this one. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have an awesome day :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, please lemme know what you think by leaving a comment or kudos! I hope you all enjoyed and have an awesome day :)
> 
> Translations:  
> Поиск области, только убить, если спровоцировали: Search field, only kill if provoked.  
> Приходите посмотреть на это: Come look at this.  
> остаться вниз: Stay down.  
> отбой, солдат: Stand down, soldier.


End file.
